This week’s episode was by far the most surreal of all, which is saying a lot considering the delightfully quirky nature of the show. It features, of all things, a talking mime, a tiny car comically (and morbidly) packed with dead clowns, and a ridiculously sinister French acrobat. The episode also had a distinctly melancholy and sad tone, which is a change from the normal Pollyanna vibe. The change was interesting, but hopefully won’t be a frequent one.
Emerson is driven to take a missing person case by the memory of his own missing daughter, and we finally get to learn what happened. Contrary to the dark and ominous possibilities that Emerson’s reticence conjured, his daughter’s disappearance was simply a case of wife leaving husband and taking daughter with. While this is somewhat anticlimactic, in the long run it’s a sigh of relief that Emerson’s child wasn’t kidnapped, lost in a dark wood, or something else equally life-threatening. The idea of the wonderfully sarcastic Emerson Cod finally finding his daughter, just so he can bury her, is too much for this sweet show – even with Ned’s ability to revive the dead.
While the gang is following the case, the audience is following the apparent crumbling of Ned and Chuck’s budding relationship. Perhaps the writers listened to all those misguided fans who can’t handle the cloying sweetness of the relationship between the Piemaker and Chuck. The rest of the fans love the relationship, especially since every time it gets too sugary Emerson steps in to add some pepper (as with this episode where he criticizes Ned’s professions of love to Ned’s embarrassment). At any rate the writers seem to have decided to throw a wrench in the gears and slow things down. Chuck’s moving out and starting anew represents disaster in Ned’s mind, which is reasonable. To the man who has given the gift of new life, only to have stolen from something else, new beginnings represent bitterness and endings.
Also in this episode is a new problem. Now that the aunts have decided to leave the house, the Pie Hole seems to be their new haunt. Chuck shows off her nice form in a display of physical prowess as she dives over the counter just in time to keep Aunt Vivian from seeing her. While it’s understandable that the writers would want to add this new drama to the show, it will get old quickly if Chuck has to continue jumping under tables or over counters every episode. Hopefully they can resolve this problem without Chuck’s “rebirth” becoming known to the world, but also without her finally leaving town.
The episode progresses in strangeness for the case, and unhappiness as Ned and Chuck argue and fight. The missing girl has left a trail of strange dead men in her wake. First is a mime (who tries to tell his story with gestures until Emerson pulls a gun on him), then there is a car loaded with clowns and driven into a lake. This isn’t as weird as it sounds, since it turns out the missing girl ran away to the circus. Sure, that’s a cliché (young kid joining the circus) but the show handles it very uniquely. In the end, after absolving the runaway from any misdeeds and placing the blame on an angry acrobat, the gang goes home satisfied.
Chuck and Ned decide that new beginnings have potential and change doesn’t always have to be a sad thing. Emerson, having reunited a mother and child, goes back to wistfully thumbing through his pop-up book and thinking of his own child. The aunts continue to make their presence felt at the Pie Hole, surely resulting in some nasty bruises for Chuck and ulcers for Ned.
This episode was definitely weird, but still just as fun as ever. The show has so much potential for long-time viewing. The writing is unique in today’s schedule of cookie-cutter programming; a detective show without gruesome autopsies, tedious crime scene studies, and dull background scenery. While Ned has a point that change can be sad, the writers are smart to keep the relationship between Chuck and Ned evolving, and the personal details of the other characters continuously unfolding. We look forward to more great storytelling next week!
Susan Kearl is a university student with too much time on her hands who loves to watch TV. She’s happy to contribute her opinions to the world of television viewers like you.
